Idioms

bulb

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a light bulb goes off in (one's) brain

One is suddenly struck with an ingenious or inspired idea, insight, or revelation. In this expression, the phrasal verb "go off" means "turn on" or "become active." We spent hours trying to come up with a solution, when suddenly a light bulb went off in my brain. I kept feeding him subtle hints about the truth of the matter, waiting for a light bulb to go off in his brain. Hey, a light bulb just went off in my brain—what if we try rerouting the funds through your sister's company to avoid higher tax rates?
See also: brain, bulb, goes, light, off

a light bulb goes off in (one's) head

One is suddenly struck with an ingenious or inspired idea, insight, or revelation. In this expression, the phrasal verb "go off" means "turn on" or "become active." We spent hours trying to come up with a solution, when suddenly a light bulb went off in my head. I kept feeding him subtle hints about the truth of the matter, waiting for a light bulb to go off in his head. Hey, a light bulb just went off in my head—what if we try rerouting the funds through your sister's company to avoid higher tax rates?
See also: bulb, goes, head, light, off

a light bulb goes on in (one's) brain

One is suddenly struck with an ingenious or inspired idea, insight, or revelation. We spent hours trying to come up with a solution, when suddenly a light bulb went on in my brain. I kept feeding him subtle hints about the truth of the matter, waiting for a light bulb to go on in his brain. Hey, a light bulb just went on in my brain—what if we try rerouting the funds through your sister's company to avoid higher tax rates?
See also: brain, bulb, goes, light, on

a light bulb goes on in (one's) head

One is suddenly struck with an ingenious or inspired idea, insight, or revelation. We spent hours trying to come up with a solution, when suddenly a light bulb went on in my head. I kept feeding him subtle hints about the truth of the matter, waiting for a light bulb to go on in his head. Hey, a light bulb just went on in my head—what if we try rerouting the funds through your sister's company to avoid higher tax rates?
See also: bulb, goes, head, light, on

a light-bulb moment

An instance in which an ingenious idea or insight comes to one all of a sudden. A light-bulb moment came to me as I was taking a bath the other day. A: "The idea was Marvin's, and it was truly inspired." B: "What can I say, it was a light-bulb moment." I kept feeding him subtle hints about the truth of the matter, waiting for a light-bulb moment, but it never came.
See also: moment

dim bulb

An unintelligent or slow-witted person. I explained this to you not once, but three times! Are you just a dim bulb, or what? I used to think that she was a dim bulb when we were kids, but she grew up to be a physicist. The Internet is filled with dim bulbs like you who make ignorant claims with no basis in reality.
See also: bulb, dim

have a light bulb go off (in (one's) head)

To be suddenly struck with an ingenious or inspired idea, insight, or revelation. In this expression, the phrasal verb "go off" means "turn on" or "become active." After nearly four hours trying to come up with a solution, I finally had a light bulb go off in my head about what we needed to do. Hey, I just had a light bulb go off—what if we try rerouting the funds through your sister's company to avoid higher tax rates? I've been feeding him subtle hints about the truth of the matter, and he still hasn't had a light bulb go off! Ugh!
See also: bulb, go, have, light, off

have a light bulb go off in (one's) brain

To be suddenly struck with an ingenious or inspired idea, insight, or revelation. In this expression, the phrasal verb "go off" means "turn on" or "become active." After nearly four hours trying to come up with a solution, I finally had a light bulb go off in my brain about what we needed to do. Hey, I just had a light bulb go off in my brain—what if we try rerouting the funds through your sister's company to avoid higher tax rates? I've been feeding him subtle hints about the truth of the matter, and he still hasn't had a light bulb go off in his brain! Ugh!
See also: brain, bulb, go, have, light, off

have a light bulb go on (in (one's) head)

To be suddenly struck with an ingenious or inspired idea, insight, or revelation. After nearly four hours trying to come up with a solution, I finally had a light bulb go on in my head about what we needed to do. Hey, I just had a light bulb go on—what if we try rerouting the funds through your sister's company to avoid higher tax rates? I've been feeding him subtle hints about the truth of the matter, and he still hasn't had a light bulb go on! Ugh!
See also: bulb, go, have, light, on

have a light bulb go on in (one's) brain

To be suddenly struck with an ingenious or inspired idea, insight, or revelation. After nearly four hours trying to come up with a solution, I finally had a light bulb go on in my brain about what we needed to do. Hey, I just had a light bulb go on in my brain—what if we try rerouting the funds through your sister's company to avoid higher tax rates? I've been feeding him subtle hints about the truth of the matter, and he still hasn't had a light bulb go on in his brain! Ugh!
See also: brain, bulb, go, have, light, on

have a light-bulb moment

To be suddenly struck with or inspired by an ingenious idea, insight, or revelation. He'd been trying to work out the puzzle for nearly an hour, when suddenly he had a light-bulb moment and understood how it fit together. A: "But it was Martin who came up with the remarkable idea that saved out company." B: "What can I say—I had a light-bulb moment." Thank goodness I had a light-bulb moment as I was taking a bath the other day, or else we'd still be grappling with this problem!
See also: have, moment

light bulb

A sudden ingenious or inspired idea or insight. We spent hours trying to come up with a solution, when suddenly a light bulb went on in my head. A light-bulb moment came to me as I was taking a bath the other day.
See also: bulb, light
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.

dim bulb

n. a dull person; a stupid person. George seems to be a dim bulb, but he’s a straight-A student.
See also: bulb, dim

light bulb

n. a pregnant woman. (Jocular. Refers to the shape of a pregnant woman.) Who’s the light bulb on the sofa?
See also: bulb, light
McGraw-Hill's Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions Copyright © 2006 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
See also:
References in periodicals archive
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Energy saving light bulbs - the facts
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First frost signals gardening chores
One to blame 'dilawans' for the old bulb burning out;
Light bulbs and politics
The Reos Lite smart bulb can perform multiple functions and if you are looking to spice up lighting in your house, or a particular room, you can definitely give it a try.
Reos Lite: A Bluetooth LED bulb to spice up home lighting
Choose a sunny spot with well-drained soil - the only thing bulbs can't stand is excess water as it makes them rot.
Simple rules for planting
Reproductive fitness was severely limited by the tip-down orientation of bulb planting during all four seasons.
Significance of bulb polarity in survival of transplanted mitigation bulbs
When warmer weather arrived, I gently washed the glass (I could not remove it) and replaced the incandescent bulb with a light detector and a 100-watt replacement LED bulb.
How many Jesuits does it take to change a light bulb?
The light output is a huge improvement on the old incandescent bulbs banned by the EU seven years ago, which were just 5% energy efficient, meaning 95% of their energy was lost as heat.
Some bright sparks reinvent the light bulb; Update could bring back old version
Price The thing that tends to put people off buying an LED bulb is the upfront cost in comparison to a halogen bulb.
Is changing bulbs a bright idea? LED bulbs are expensive to buy, but are they cheaper than halogen bulbs in the long run? Electrician Andrew Ridley explains the figures
The technology is a scaled down version of the induction light bulbs used atop skyscrapers and bridges to warn airplanes, Goscha says.
Bright idea
Reducing the voltage, regulating it to DC and controlling the current are all handled by an LED driver (which is internal to the LED bulb).
In hospitality retrofits, LEDs get closer to incandescents: with a billion incandescent bulbs primed for replacement in the hospitality market alone, LED dimming must satisfy a demanding demographic
The LED was called "the $25 light bulb" not long ago, but costs have been rapidly falling.
A bright idea for EWEB: Promote LEDs
The pigtail-shaped contraptions cost three to ten times more than an equivalent incandescent bulb, emit a weird harsh glow, and break easily, not only releasing their small amounts of toxic materials but also undercutting the lasts-longer-than-traditional-bulbs arithmetic behind claims that they were an economic benefit to consumers.
Light touch: how smart regulation and technological innovation ruined a perfectly good conservative crusade against government
The program, run by government agencies to cut greenhouse gas emissions, goes on to explain that a standard incandescent bulb loses 90 percent of its electricity as heat, rather than light.
Consumers resist light bulb change
And it doesn't even go on sale until next month but the unique shaped bulb is causing something of a commotion on tech sites around the world.
Philips new 'flat' lightbulb set for sale in the USA
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